Family of Boy Who Wears Dresses Sues Education Department

Image

Leo Davis in his room in Park Slope, Brooklyn. All his life, he has gravitated toward playing with toys usually associated with girls. His parents say that caused tension at his school.CreditCreditAnnie Tritt for The New York Times

A 5-year-old named Leo sat surrounded by toys on the floor of his bedroom in Brooklyn this week marked with some classic little-boy touches: hair in his eyes and a scab on one knee.

The outfit he had chosen for himself that day was less stereotypical: pink cowboy boots, dusty pink shorts and a denim vest that showed off the temporary rose tattoo on his tiny biceps.

Leo is a boy, and since before he could speak, his parents said, he has gravitated toward things traditionally associated with girls — he loves pink and Barbies and anything that sparkles. He likes to wear dresses. His parents describe him as “gender expansive,” and in the liberal enclave of Park Slope, Brooklyn, where Leo has lived all his life, he has encountered far less resistance than he might have elsewhere.

But when he started kindergarten last year, his parents said, that changed.

Leo’s parents, Danielle Super and Michael Davis, filed a lawsuit last week with the New York City Commission on Human Rights that says Public School 107 in Park Slope created a hostile environment for their son, in violation of his rights. The suit also contends that school officials reported Ms. Super on suspicion of child abuse after Leo made a comment about his genitals.

The Department of Education says that school staff members have a legal obligation to report any suspicion of abuse. But the family says the decision to report what would normally be viewed as childish bathroom humor grew from pernicious stereotypes about gender expression and sexual abuse.

“They distorted an innocent remark into a false allegation because they were deeply uncomfortable with us as a family,” Ms. Super said.

The allegations of abuse were determined to be unfounded by New York State.

Before Leo began at P.S. 107, his parents told the school about his gender expression and suggested a few books, some for adults and some for children, that might help his classmates and teachers understand, like “Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress.” He arrived for his first day of school, thrilled for the new adventure, his parents said, and wearing a pink track suit.

The books were never read in class, the suit said. Leo’s classmates were left confused about whether to call him “he” or “she,” which he found upsetting. They did not understand why he was using the boys’ bathroom. His parents said Leo quickly grew to hate going to school.

The parents had some tense conversations with school officials, including one in October in which the principal, Eve Litwack, said that “it would be easier” if Leo were transgender, according to the complaint. Shortly after that, Ms. Super and Mr. Davis tried to transfer Leo to a different school, but were turned down by several in the area.

Image

Danielle Super and Michael Davis, Leo’s mother and father, with their son in their apartment. A remark the 5-year-old made at school prompted an investigation of his parents, which found nothing amiss.CreditAnnie Tritt for The New York Times

In December, a classmate’s parent overheard Leo say that somebody “drinks out of my penis,” according to the complaint. The parent asked Leo if he was talking about his dog, and he said: “No, I mean my mom. My parents eat my poop.” The complaint said that the parent understood this to be a joke, a 5-year-old trying to get a rise out of his friends. Nonetheless, she mentioned it to the classroom teacher, Sheri Silverstein. Ms. Silverstein asked Leo’s mother to speak with him about it.

Five days later, Ms. Litwack, the principal, called Leo’s parents and told them to come in for a meeting. She said that the comment indicated that Leo was “disturbed,” according to the complaint, and that he needed therapy.

A few days later, Ms. Litwack was instructed by her district superintendent, Anita Skop, to report Ms. Super to the state. Police officers arrived at the family’s home around midnight, followed by officials from the Administration for Children’s Services. Toya Holness, a spokeswoman for the Department of Education, said in a statement that school employees have no choice but to report anything suspicious.

“Schools must be welcoming and nurturing places, and we provide training and resources to ensure students and staff attend school in a safe, supportive and inclusive learning environments,” Ms. Holness said. “D.O.E. staff members are mandated reporters and have a legal obligation to refer any suspicion of child abuse, maltreatment or neglect for investigation.”

Ms. Holness declined to address specific concerns about how the staff at P.S. 107 welcomed Leo or introduced him to his peers, citing the pending litigation. A spokeswoman for the city’s Law Department said it was reviewing the lawsuit.

But the family’s lawyer, Allegra L. Fishel, founder of the Gender Equality Law Center, said that the school viewed the comment as suspicious in the first place because of Leo’s everyday behavior. For years, Ms. Fishel said, a destructive stereotype has persisted that says people who are gender-nonconforming are the way they are because they were sexually abused.

“The principal reported them because she believed that this family was somehow aberrant,” Ms. Fishel said. “And he’s not the only kid in New York City who is going to come into a school like this.”

After a two-month investigation, the state said the charges against Ms. Super were “unfounded,” but a record of the complaint will remain on file with the state for 10 years, the lawsuit says. If Ms. Super is asked if she has ever been accused of child abuse, her lawyer says, she will have to answer yes.

Leo transferred to a different public school in the middle of the last school year, and will start at a private school next week. He seems to have moved on from the experience, his parents said.

But his parents said they felt compelled to file a lawsuit all the same.

“As a parent, my job is not to make strangers comfortable,” Ms. Super said. “My job is to protect my child, and to make my child comfortable so he can flourish.

“You do you, kid,” she said. “I will be the human shield, and I’ll take it.”

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A21 of the New York edition with the headline: School Created Hostile Setting for ‘Gender Expansive’ Boy, Lawsuit Says. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe